(CNN) – Then-Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was “very uncomfortable” with the idea of a Guantanamo prisoner swap for Bowe Bergdahl when it was raised in 2011, a former senior Defense Department official familiar with Gates’ thinking told CNN.

The “fundamental discussion,” the source said, “was over the notion of negotiating with terrorists and hostage takers.” It was a position, the source confirmed, that was shared by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-CIA Director Leon Panetta-a powerful triumvirate.FULL POST

(CNN) - President Barack Obama, speaking for the first time since news outlets obtained copies of former Defense Secretary Gates' book, which was critical of the commander in chief, said Monday that Gates did an "outstanding job" during his time in his administration.

"War is never easy and I think all of us who have been involved in that process understand that, but I want to emphasize that during his tenure here Gates was an outstanding secretary of defense, a good friend of mine and I'll always be grateful for his service," Obama said.

(CNN) – Bob Gates defended his new book Sunday, after some pundits blasted the former defense secretary for criticizing a sitting president and an administration in which he recently served.

In an interview with CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” Gates said the partisan culture of Washington was quick to focus on the negative statements in the book, but less interested in the positive marks he gave President Barack Obama.FULL POST

(CNN) – President Barack Obama should send David Petraeus, a retired four-star general who ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, back to Iraq to help deal with the growing unrest in the country, Sen. John McCain said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The Arizona Republican also weighed in on a new book by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, saying he would have waited a bit longer to release the book, which offers a blistering critique of the Obama administration.FULL POST

(CNN) - Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid called then-Defense Secretary Bob Gates in 2008 to say he was considering Gates as a potential running mate for Barack Obama, according to the ex-Pentagon chief's new memoir.

In an exchange recounted on page 262 of the book, "Duty," Reid quizzed Gates on the phone about his political history. Gates was appointed Defense Secretary by former President George W. Bush in 2006 and remained at his post as part of Obama's team of rivals.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' criticism of his former boss President Barack Obama on Afghanistan doesn't align with the commander-in-chief's views, the White House said Wednesday.

In his memoir, which arrived at the White House on Tuesday evening, Gates states Obama "doesn't believe in his own strategy" in Afghanistan.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Republicans quickly pounced Tuesday on some controversial details from former Defense Secretary Bob Gates’ new book in which he highlights an admission from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he found “dismaying” and fiercely lambasts Vice President Joe Biden.

Both are potential 2016 presidential contenders.

Gates, who led the Pentagon under two presidents from 2006 to 2011, also offered scathing critiques of President Barack Obama and Congress in the memoir, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” which was obtained by CNN and is set to hit bookshelves next week.